It's 8:30 Saturday morning and I'm sitting in a lawn chair at a sports park watching Ethan play his first soccer game of the season.
The sun is beating down on my back perfectly complimenting the crisp morning air. The air smells clean and fresh with just a hint of fresh cut grass.
Ethan (number 2) is playing with his usual cat like reflexes and skill. He's one of the smallest players, but he can really move out there.
This is a huge sports park and I can hear the cheers of the parents coming from every quarter.
After this, there will be team pictures and the obligatory opening day hot dog and the ride home while Ethan re lives the game in excruciating detail.
It's another perfect Saturday morning.
I got a stern talking to yesterday from my daughter Lauryn. She will be 21 in a few days and is currently going to Brigham Young University in Idaho. (Can't get into a lot of trouble in Idaho).
She was mad/sad/disappointed/miffed that I hadn't written a post about her. So here, my little brown eyed girl, is your post. You can show it to all of your friends, I bet their dads don't blog about them...
Demarise and I waited 9 months after our wedding before we got pregnant, which is a long time for a young Mormon couple. Then one day we visited some friends in Kanata who had a brand new baby girl and we fell in love with the idea of having a baby of our own.
Three weeks later, we were expecting.
When Demarise was 3 months pregnant, she was in a terrible car accident that caused serious damage to her feet (she still has trouble standing or walking for a long time) and left her badly bruised and unconscious. I rushed to the hospital and explained to the doctors that she was 3 months pregnant. They didn't look hopeful, but arranged to have an emergency ultrasound done.
I was nervous as they prepared the ultrasound, but I needn't have been. There was Lauryn calmly swimming around, sucking her thumb.
We found out early that we were having a girl and we immediately named her Lauryn Cosette (from Les Miserables).
When she was further along, and started moving around, she would push her hand, or foot, or some other body part, hard against Dems stomach so that you could see a little bump. We would lie in bed and I would put my hand over the bump and "hold" Lauryn's little hand and talk to her for hours at a time.
Lauryn was two weeks late which drove us crazy. This was before cell phones and I had a pager that I checked hundreds of times a day. And poor Demarise had long passed the novelty phase of pregnancy.
Finally, on May 30th, 1993, Dem started having contractions. They started and we called her parents and they came over. And then they stopped and they left. And then they started again, and back they came. After what seemed forever, they were 5 minutes apart and we could go to the hospital.
It was a fresh and reasonably warm evening with an incredible wind. As I gently helped my wife into the car I remember thinking that all of the angels in heaven were escorting my little girl to her new earthly home.
Finally, after the longest night of my life, (I had to stay up all night on a very uncomfortable stool, while my wife lounged in a comfortable bed), my little brown eyed girl was born.
The nurses took her and cleaned her up and she screamed and screamed. They wrapped her in a blanket and she screamed and screamed some more. Then they placed her in my arms and she screamed. I said "Hi there Lauryn, I'm your daddy." And she stopped crying, opened her eyes, looked into mine and then closed her eyes and went to sleep.
It was right about that time that she wrapped herself around my heart, and she's lived there ever since.
I think it's amazing how easily a familiar song can send your mind hurtling back in time to a special memory.
Here are a few of the songs that do that for me...
Queen - Bohemian Rhaposody
When I was about 10 or 11 years old, we had a foster sister named Angie who was about 15. I remember so clearly standing in the bed of my Dad's truck with Angie as she taught me that song. Of course that was before walkmen or iPods, so she just sang it and I sang it with her. After we were done I think she realized that she had just taught a 10 year old boy to sing "Mama, I just killed a man..." and she made me promise to never tell my mom where I learned that song. And I never did... until now. Sorry Angie!
Sheriff - When I'm With You
Somewhere in my high school career, the band Sheriff did a concert for us. It was my first rock concert. The gym was set up with folding chairs and I remember one of the teachers walking around with a decibel meter, looking like quite the dork. Near the end of the concert, one of the band members yelled something about getting out of our chairs and acting like we were at a concert and people started pushing the chairs out of the way and running up to the stage. I loved "When I'm With You" so much, we had it as the first song at our wedding.
Alphaville - Forever Young
This one always reminds my of my best friend, Seth. One Friday night while we were driving around looking for something exciting to do, he put his Alphaville cassette in the stereo in his car and we jammed out. There was a slight clicking noise on "Forever Young", probably because we played it so often, and we obsessed about that little noise for a long time.
"Do you hear that noise?"
"Yeah, I hear it. What do you think it is?"
"I don't know, you hear it though right?"
Whenever I hear that song now, with or without clicking, it always reminds me of Seth and the great times we had together.
Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World
This was the last song played at our wedding, (well that last one we heard), it was playing as we said good-bye to everyone. On our wedding video, you can see Demarise hugging everyone and their brother, while I am holding her hand and gently but firmly trying to pull her away. I've got her in one hand and a bottle of (non-alcoholic) champagne in the other.
There is another story for this song, but it deserves a post all of its own.
ABBA - Anything by them
My entire teenage years. ABBA was the soundtrack to my adolescence. As I say to my kids now, if it's not ABBA, it's crap!
Starship - We Built This City
When I was on my mission in Montreal, of course we weren't permitted to listen to rock music. But one day a few of us were in a clothing store and "We Built This City" came on. One of the Elders was from the San Francisco area and he got so excited. I've loved it ever since. And luckily, my sister Heidi married a guy cool enough to love it too. So now I have a song with one of my Brothers in law!
Journey - Don't Stop Believing
When I was 17, I was a cast member in the Hill Cumorah Pageant in Palmyra, NY with my friends, Seth, Brad, and Simon. One night we ended up crammed into the back of Kim Sherwoods VW Jetta along with several other people. I'm sure we were breaking some sort of law, but we didn't care. We were driving along a country road singing along to this classic by Journey.
Well I could go on and on. There are so many great songs that take me back to so many great memories. All I can say is, "Thank you for the Music"
I was working at my desk today with my headphones on to eliminate distractions, gently bopping my head to the music when suddenly I started to cry.
"Any Dream Will Do" from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" came on with Donny Osmond singing. And that reminded me of Jamie and how proud I am of his singing ability and the job he did when we produced Joseph for the Stake. And then I remembered that in 3 months he'll leave for his mission.
And that's when it started, big crocodile tears rolling down my face. The tears were a mixture of tears of joy and tears of sadness. I'm so proud of "Elder Fischer" and his motivation to serve the Lord, but at the same time, how am I supposed to go two whole years without seeing him or hearing him sing.
I didn't cry when he opened his call exactly one week ago, although he did. But I sure did today.
I guess it's true what the say; I'm sad to see him go, the only thing that would make me sadder, is if he didn't go.
It's a scene that is unique to Mormondom, the whole family including as many extended family members gather together in a living or rec room with eager anticipation. Seated at a place of honour is a worthy young man or young woman, holding a large white envelope with the return address: Office of the First Presidency.
Generally the routine is similar. The family members in the room take turns guessing where the future missionary will serve, while the missionary nervously turns the envelope over and over in his hands.
With the advances in technology, often family members who are far away are present through the use of Skype or other applications.
Finally the room grows silent as the missionary gingerly opens the envelope and removes the letter that will change his or her life forever. "Elder (or Sister) so and so, you are hereby called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You are assigned to labour in the _______ mission".
This is followed by cheers, and hugs and tears and quite often the request for a map.
I've been privileged to be present at a number of these occasions, sometimes in person and sometimes electronically. We are a missionary minded family and including our extended family and various in-laws, we have served in Italy, Montreal, Japan, Boston, Czech Republic, Brampton, England, Portland Oregon, New Mexico and South Africa.
But today was different, today it was my son in the hot seat, with that familiar envelope in his hands. Surrounding him was his family, some very close friends and via Skype, his sister in Idaho. And there were cheers and hugs and tears, and yes, a request for a map.
Jamie will serve in the West Indies mission. He enters the Provo MTC on August 27.
And in a super cool twist of fate, Jamie's cousin Devan, who was born the day after him also got his call today. He will be serving in Colombia, South Carolina. He enters the MTC one week after Jamie, so they will have some time together there.
For years our family got together for baby blessings, baptisms, priesthood ordinations etc. And now the missions begin. And in true Mormon style, we're still having baby blessings, thanks to Maranda and Matt!
Here is the video of Jamie opening his call...
Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutters and threw up the sash, when what to my wondering eyes should appear but.... grass. I was overcome with emotion. "Dem", I cried, "come and see! It's grass, beautiful grass".
After this unending winter, the sight of just a small patch of green (OK, more brown than green) showing through the shimmering white blanket of frozen ice crystals returned hope to my winter weary heart.
I love grass. I love the way it feels under my bare feet. I love the way it smells when freshly cut and I love the look of a beautifully manicured lawn. But more than this, I love what grass represents. Grass is the ultimate survivor. It can flourish in the cracks of a sidewalk or roadway. It goes dormant throughout the winter or during times of drought and then as soon as it receives a little water and sunshine it start to grow immediately.
I wish I could be more like grass, strong and resilient. I wish I could endure difficult times with courage and stalwartness and then bounce back with hope and optimism the instant the clouds begin to clear.
I guess the secret is in the roots. Grass has a spectaular root system that reaches far into the soil in search of nourishment and strength. Maybe I just need to work on developing deeper roots.
